Method for storing yarn for the immediate need of yarn of knitting machines



Dem 1970 K. J. ROSEN 7 3 METHOD FOR STORING YARN FOR THE IMMEDIATE NEED OF YARN 0F KNITTING MACHINE Original Filed April 27, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 gt-----Illllw INVENTOR KARL ISAC JOEL ROSEN FIG. I

BY a

ATTORNEYS Dec. 22, 1970 K. I. J. ROSEN.

METHOD FOR STORING YARN FOR THE IMMEDIATE NEED OF YARN OF KNITTING MACHINE Original Filed April 27, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Illlll llll lllll INVENTOR KARL [SAC JOEL Rosm FIG.

1 BY W464 ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,549,299 METHOD FOR STORING YARN FOR THE IM- MEDIATE NEED OF YARN OF KNITTING MACHINES Karl Isac Joel Rosn, Villagatan 39-41, Ulricehamn, Sweden Original application Apr. 27, 1967, Ser. No. 634,179, now Patent No. 3,419,225, dated Dec. 31, 1968. Divided and this application Nov. 1, 1968, Ser. No. 772,592 Claims priority, application Sweden, Mar. 22, 1967,

. 3,994/67 The portion of the term of the patent subsequent to Dec. 31, 1985, has been disclaimed Int. Cl. B65h 51/20 U.S. Cl. 242-47.12 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The present invention relates to a method for holding a yarn reserve ready for the immediate yarn need in knitting machines such that the yarn is fed with a very small and practically constant tension to the knitting place irrespective of the remaining quantity of yarn on the yarn cone. The quantity of yarn on the spool body controls the rotation of the spool body. 1

This application is a division of my application Ser. No. 634,179 filed Apr. 27, 1967, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,419,225 granted Dec. 31, 1968 entitled Device for Storing Yarn for the Immediate Need of Yarn of Knitting Machines.

The different feeders on knitting machines draw off the yarn from the cones in the quantities needed. As the yarn consumption continues, the diameter of the yarn cones decreases and thereby also the angle enclosed by the yarn running off and the axis of the yarn cone. Hereby, there is caused a change in the tension of the yarn and even though it mostly is a question of minor changes, these changes are sufiicient to cause notable changes in the article manufactured, Furthermore, it occurs often at such a drawing off of yarn from yarn cones a jerky drawing off inter alia depending on varying adherence between the different yarn windings on the yarn cones.

In order to eliminate the drawbacks occurring at such a yarn drawing off, one has constructed several devices for feeding yarn to the knitting places. For circular knitting machines of Jacquard-type there has been used only the yarn feeding device which is characterized by a spool rotating with a high speed and the yarn being laid around this spool, the friction of the yarn increasing against the spool at tension increases such that the resistance from the spool is overcome. However, feeders of this kind have the disadvantage that there occur very quick yarn tension decreases at jerks from the spools and the jerks cause yarn from the feeder to be thrown forwards.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a method which renders possible a knitting with a low and constant yarn tension also at intermittent and varying yarn consumption (cotton-machines, flat knitting machines and pattern knitting machines of all kinds).

Another purpose of the invention is to maintain a controlled (correct) yam supply or reserve such that a sudden stop of the machine may be avoided and to make the yarn guards superfluous and thus to render possible a lower construction of the machine such that the yarn will be available at any place for the hands of a person of normal height.

The method involves practically that all the yarn is rewound before the knitting in such a way that the spool always has a constant diameter and a constant height and is kept in reserve immediately before the knitting place in such a way that bows are eliminated, such bows increasing the tension and eliminating stop devices.

"ice

Proposals have been made to use a device situated between the yarn bobbin and the knitting place, said device comprising a spool body on which the yarn is wound so as to form a yarn supply and means for controlling the winding on of yarn under the influence of the quantity of yarn wound on the spool body. By means of such a device a certain quantity of yarn is kept as a supply for the immediate need of stitching and the yarn is wound on the spool body which preferably is cylindricalperpendicularly to the axis of the spool body and is pulled off essentially in the direction of said axis. The yarn is wound on the spool body which by means of impulses is brought to rotate, in windings situated close to each other which are displaced in direction towards the drawing oif place. The windings will be situated loosely close to each other and they could therefore easily be tangled. The yarn quantity kept as a supply on the spool body is controlled by means of a sensing device for the yarn quantity and the rotation of the spool body is controlled in such a way that when the yarn on the spool body is reduced to a predetermined minimum quantity, the spool body is brought to rotate and when the yarn supply at such a rotation is increased to a predetermined maximum quantity, the rotation of the spool body is interrupted, A device provided with a photoelectric cell which is delicate has been used as a sensing device which renders the machine complicated.

The invention relates to an improved method for the purpose explained in the foregoing. The main feature of the invention is to be seen therein that the means for controlling the quantity of yarn wound onto the spool comprises a disk provided with arms, said disk journalled in the spool body and its arms extend out through slots in the spool body in such a way that a change in the yarn quantity wound onto the spool body causes a change in the position of the disk, the latter adapted by means of its position change to interrupt or to start the winding of yarn onto the spool body. The arms on the disk cause the yarn during the winding to be situated in windings close to each other and the windings are displaced by means of a sliding along the spool body by swinging the disk towards the discharge end of the spool body when the yarn supply on the spool body approaches the predetermined minimum value. At this swinging of the disk and displacement of the yarn windings on the spool body the yarn winding onto the spool body is restarted. The disk with the arms functions as a sensing device and ensures at the same time that the yarn windings are placed close to each other on the spool body;

Tests have proven that by means of such a method the yarn tension may be kept at a practically constant value at its feeding to a knitting place even when considerable jerks occur in the yarn and variations occur in the yarn tension between the device and the supply yarn bobbin.

It is of course also possible, instead of driving the spool with an intermediate rotation, to increase or to decrease the rotation speed of the yarn spool so as to adapt its speed to the consumption of the yarn. It is also possible to obtain the winding onto the spool by means of a winding device orbiting around the spool body.

Further features and advantages of the invention will be understood from the following description with reference to the drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a front View of a device for carrying out the invention,

FIG. 2 is a sectional view through a portion of the device shown in FIG. 1, and

FIG. 3 is a view on the section line IIIIII in FIG. 2.

In FIG. 1 there is shown an arm 1 which forms a holder for a yarn cone 2. A knitting machine may be provided with eg twelve such arms. The yarn 3, as shown by the arrows, is drawn off from the cone 2 in upward direction and runs through a yarn eye 4 and then through a slotted or hollow arm 5 down to a yarn spanner 6. From the yarn spanner 6, the yarn runs' through "a stoppefwith eyes 7 to a winding device which as a unit has been denoted 8 and which is shown in detail in FIGS. 2 and 3. The yarn 3 is drawn off from the device 8 and runs thereafter via a further guiding eye 9 to the knitting machine (not shown). i

There is in FIG. 2 shown a cross section throu'gh a to the invention. This device comprises a cylindrical spool body 10 which is carriedon a;.vertic'al shaft ll. At its upper portion, the spool body 10 is provided with slots 12.

There is in the upper portionof the spool' body'lO on ball bearings 13 carried a disk 14 lhaving arms 15 which extend out through the slots12:, I n theembodim ent shown the cylindric spool bodydt) formsthe rotor 'of an electric motor 16 housed in the interior:of thespoohbody, said motor 16 throughconduits' 17 fed from a current source under the guidance of a micro switch 18. The latter] is influenced .by the ,disk 14 which is journalled on a pin 19-for being apt to be swung, said"pin ,19 extending through the shaft 11. The spool body. 10 is at its lower end provided with a flange 19' of the same; cross section shape as a rail of a railway. A C-shaped ring 20 is adapted u to run on the flange l9'pfor guiding the yarn at its drawing, 1 off. 4

Several advantages are gained by means of the present invention'among which may be mentioned'first that the preferred embodiment of the winding device, 8 according I without any risk of errors in the knitted article.

Themost important advantage ofthe present invention is however that with machineshaving varying or intermittent yarn consumption there is rendered possible a knitting'With a constant and a very low yarn tension.

, be limited'bylthis description or. otherwise except as deshown disk 14.'Further, the spool body may be shaped somewhat conical or essentially cylindrical and conical only at one end; The motor for driving the spool body at itsrotation maybe arranged at other places than in the The method according to theinvention is carried outin the following way., When starting theknitting machine, i

the yarn 3 is put. through the eye ,4 and the arm 5,;the

spanner device6 and the yarn eyes Iand lSfthBIl laid some turns around the spool body 10, ,putthrough the running of yarn are situated [on the spoolbody 10, the disk 14 inclines themost and the microswitch 18 is closed so that electric current is fed to the electric motor 16 .1At the'start of, the machine, the spool body 10 will r'otate;so that yarn I is wound on a surfacefree of yarn on the spool body. The

disk 14 moves the freshly and the previously wound yarn 11 turns (to a certain limit) downwards on the spool body.

As the number ofturns on 'the'spool body increases, there a 7 occurs apressure on the disk 14 whichforce's the latter to change position by turning onthe pi'1i19, the flange'22 influencing the microswitch 18 insuch a way that. the I motor is disconnected and thespool bodystops. The'spool body 10 thus.stops when, a predetermined yarn quantity iswoundonthesame. r, i Q

en theknitting, achine needs yarn fromthe spool body in questiom yarn -is drawn off, as is indicated'in FIG. 1, in the direction of the axis of the spool body 10' from the lower, border offtheiyarn 'rese'rve 2 1w'ound on the spoolbody, the yarn beingiguided by the ring or track 20 running along the flange 19. Itis hereby prevented. that yarn by air drafts is freed in too large a quantity which could cause disturbances.

The risk for such disturbances, "e.g. tangling of the yarn, is however, more pronounced in connection with certain yarn qualities than with other ones. By using,for the.

way that the'microswitch 18- at a certain minimum value of the yarn reserve closes the current circuit and the motor 16 restarts for winding a further quantity of yarn on the.

spool body 10. The yarn reserve thenincreasin-g will finally swing the disk 14 in such a way that at a predetermined maximum value of the yarn reserve 21, the disk 14 is brought to a positionforinterrupting the feeding of current to the motor 16 so that the spool body 16 ceas s to rotate..

interiorof the spool body 10. Another device than the ring 20 is also possible for guiding the drawing off of the yarn. Thus, it is possible to use a ring of. a diameter somewhat larger than the diameter of the spool body 10 arranged on this body upon the flange19', the latter in such a case not necessarilyshaped'with: aniouter wider portion. The yarn then runs between the ring and the surface of the spool body. At a certain shaping of the spool body 10 and in connection with certain yarn qualities it is pos 'sibleto guide the yarn at its drawing oil only by means ofthe'eye 9 shown in FIG. .111 FIG. 1 the device according totheinvention is shown situated vertically below the yarn cone 2but also in this respect many modifications are possible; 1

Iclaim: I

1. A method for feeding yarn to a textile machine corn-v 1 prising: I I

(a) winding the yarn on a rotatable spool body having a disk movably mounted thereon, from a direction essentiallyperpendicular tothe axis'of said spool body to form on said body a plurality of windings in displacing engagement with said disk; (b) drawing said yarn off from said spool body in a 1 direction' substantially parallel to the. axis of said spool body axis to obtain a very low and substantially constant yarn tension; (c). and controlling the rotationiof said body by the 1 position'of said diskas displaced in response to the quantityof yarn on said spool body.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1 comprising winding said yarn on said spool bodyin yarn turns situated side by'side, said turns being displaced'in a direction towards the drawing off place.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1 comprising winding said yarn on said-spool body so that said body is rotated for winding when the yarn reserve on said spool body by a drawing 01f for feeding the textile machine has been decreased to a predetermined minimum quantity.

, 4. A method as claimed in claiml comprising guiding the winding of the yarn on said spool body by changing the rotation speed of said spool body at such winding.

References Cited v UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,434,210 1/1948 Haley 242-4712 3,083,924 4/1963 Vossen et a1. 242- 47.12 3,225,446 12/1965 Sarfati et a1. 24247.01X

NATHAN L. MINTZ, Primary Examiner 

